Formal analysis on Farewell, My Concubine and Raise the Red Lantern.

Among the Chinese films that were shown in class, Farewell, My Concubine and Raise the Red Lantern could be distinguished as more modern films compared to others. Being that they are fairly modern piece of work, the camera techniques, the color scheme, and different props used in the two films were quite alike. It was really interesting to analyze the mise-en-scene of both of the films, because these two films carry out completely different storylines yet convey similar meanings through its mise-en-scene.  

(Since we all watched the films together, I don’t think it’s really necessary for me to go into detail about the story-line of the films).

Setting:

Many of the pivotal scenes in Farewell my concubine, takes place at the Beijing opera training school. The Beijing opera training school is a big traditional house where they train the young boys to become opera stars. This opera house seems to be isolated from the outside with their own sets of rules and ideals set apart from the rest of the world. Even if these rules and ideals are made up of beatings and suffering, the boys in the house only had one goal in life, which was to become famous opera stars, and they would risk anything to acquire this dream. I thought this was very similar to Raise the Red Lantern. In this film, the concubines and the master live in a beautiful house. However, the way the house is built, creates a sense of isolation and separation from the outside world. The house is made up of high walls and doors that create a barrier between the society and the private life within the house. And, not only did these walls create barriers between the outside world and the lives of the people living in it, but it also created division between the wives. These wives don’t share any relationships with each other, other than feelings of competition and jealousy. This house is also made up of its own traditional system that dominates the lives of the concubines, and these concubines would also do anything to fulfill their desire, which is to win the attention and power from the master (which meant foot massages and getting the red lantern hung up). Also, when Songlian first enters the master’s house, she is overwhelmed by an enormous calligraphy written on a gigantic door. The calligraphy takes up the whole shot, dominating Songlian. This signified the rigidity of tradition and the value it holds in the household.

Props:

Props were one of the main factors that drove the story-line in the two films. First, in Farewell, my concubine, I thought the sword played a big role into driving the story. When Shitou admires Zhang’s sword, Douzi promises Shitou that he’ll, someday, get him that sword. Then, Shitou acts as if he were the king, and tells Douzi that he would make him his queen. I thought this scene, and the conversation that happened between them was very significant. The way Douzi promises Shitou to get him something that he admired, revealed/foreshadowed Douzi’s love for Shitou. And when Shitou said if he had the sword, he would make Douzi his queen, embedded this idea that Shitou also loved him the way Douzi loved Shitou. Later, Douzi sells his body to Master Yuan to present the sword to Shitou as his wedding gift. 

After Douzi gives up his body to Master Yuan to get the sword for Shitou.

Douzi’s obsession with becoming Shitou’s queen, or concubine, as it is in the opera, was represented through Douzi giving up his own body to give Shitou something that he desired, which was the sword. However, towards the end of the movie, when Douzi, Shitou and all the other opera members are getting tormented by the communist party, Douzi throws the sword into the fire after getting betrayed by Shitou. This had a great significance because by throwing the sword into the fire, it implied that Douzi was finally letting go of the bond that he had with Shitou, and also letting go of the desire becoming Shitou's concubine in real life. This similar scene appears in Raise the red lantern also. Instead of it being a sword, a red lantern takes a significant role in driving the story. The red lantern for the concubines meant power and love. If the red lantern was hung outside their room that night, that meant that the master would spend the night in their room. The idea of being chosen by the master stirred up jealousy and competition. The concubines fought for the attention of the master, and ultimately led each other to destruction. However, the desire for the red lantern didn’t only apply to the concubines. The servant girl, Yan’er, also became infatuated with the feeling with being wanted that came with receiving the red lantern. When Songlian finds out about the affair that Yan’er was having with the master, and finds all the red lantern she’s been hiding in her room, she becomes furious and burns all of them in the fire. Yan’er kneels down and quietly watches her lanterns burn in fire, and sits there until she is found dead. This scene is really similar to the scene in Farewell, my concubine. By having her lanterns thrown into flames, she was reminded that she desired something she could not have, and it finally led to her own destruction. The two props symbolized the obsession the two characters in the two films had. They simply wanted to taste and get the love and power they desired for in return.

Color scheme/camera:

One noticeable difference between the two films was the color scheme used in the films. Farewell, my concubine was filled with vibrant and fancy colors. The makeup and the costumes were made up of bright colors that really captured the attention of the audience. I thought these bright, vibrant colors were used to depict the traditional Beijing opera. The colors were used to compare the difference between the traditional Beijing opera and the modern Beijing opera in the film. When Douzi was lecturing his students about the Beijing opera, he says something like this: “The backdrop is too realistic, nothing pleases the eye. Beijing opera puts great value on ambiance. Song recitals, movements and acrobatics are part of this ambiance.” Douzi believed that the special aspect that made Beijing opera so popular was the elaborate colors that attracted the audience and set the mood for the opera. In Raise the red lantern, mostly neutral colors were  used, expect for the pops of red from the red lanterns. This helped to portray the importance of those lanterns and how the placement of the lanterns every night changed the mood of the narrative.

Neutral color was used for the buildings, which helps the color red to set the mood of the scene.

Another interesting mise-en-scene of the Raise the red lantern was the camera work used on the master. Throughout the movie, the master’s face was never directly shot. He was always kept out of the focus of the viewer. This technique allowed the movie to be more centered on the concubines. Also, this camera technique was able to represent the character of the master not as an individual but as the society and norms of China as a whole.  The concubines fell shortly of the seduction of power the master presents them with. They naively allowed the master to have control and power over them. “Men had the power and control, and women were adjuncts to their wants and needs” (Lee). The camera work done on the master successfully represent the customs and traditions of China.

All in all, mise-en-scene is a very important factor that drives the storyline, and depicts and conveys the meanings and ideas the films are trying to convey.